Medical Licences in Other Jurisdictions

Effective September 1, 2015, the College by-laws require the College to indicate on the register if the member has a licence or is registered to practise medicine in a jurisdiction outside Ontario, if this is known to the College.

Practice Restrictions

As from 11:59 p.m., February 24, 2015, by order of the Discipline Committee of
the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, the following terms,
conditions and limitations are imposed on the certificate of registration held
by Dr. David Brian Opper:
(i) Dr. Opper shall participate in and successfully complete an educational
program satisfactory to the College in Ethics, with a report or reports
to be provided to the College regarding Dr. Opper's progress and
compliance. Dr. Opper shall complete this requirement by August 1, 2015
or, if no satisfactory program is available by that time, by the first
possible opportunity thereafter;
(ii) Within thirty (30) days of the date of this Order, Dr. Opper shall obtain
a physician practice monitor acceptable to the College, who will review
his Ontario Health Insurance Plan ("OHIP") billings and corresponding
patient charts to ensure his compliance with the Health Insurance Act and
who will sign an undertaking in the form attached hereto as Schedule "A"
(the "Practice Monitor");
(iii) The Practice Monitor will review, at minimum, 25 of Dr. Opper's patient
charts for which he has billed OHIP once every three (3) months for a
minimum of one year. If Dr. Opper bills OHIP for fewer than 25 patients
in any given three-month period, the Practice Monitor will review all of
the patient charts for which Dr. Opper billed OHIP. In the event that Dr.
Opper has billed OHIP for fewer than 100 patients during the one-year
period of monitoring, the monitoring will continue until a minimum of 100
charts have been reviewed;
(iv) If a Practice Monitor who has given an undertaking in Schedule "A" to
this Order is unable or unwilling to continue to fulfill its terms, Dr.
Opper shall, within twenty (20) days of receiving notice of same, obtain
an executed undertaking in the same form from a similarly qualified
person who is acceptable to the College and ensure that it is delivered
to the College within that time;
(v) If Dr. Opper is unable to obtain a Practice Monitor in accordance with
paragraphs 4(ii), 4(iii) and 4(iv) of this Order, he shall cease to
submit bills to OHIP until such time as he has done so;
(vi) Dr. Opper shall consent to the disclosure by his Practice Monitor to the
College, and by the College to his Practice Monitor, of all information
the Practice Monitor or the College deems necessary or desirable in order
to fulfill the Practice Monitor's undertaking and to monitor Dr. Opper's
compliance with this Order;
(vii) For an indefinite period of time, Dr. Opper shall inform the College of
each and every location where he practices including, but not limited to
hospitals, clinics, and offices, in any jurisdiction (collectively, his
"Practice Location(s)"), within fifteen (15) days of this Order, and
shall inform the College of any and all new Practice Locations within 15
days of commencing practice at that location;
(viii)For an indefinite period of time, Dr. Opper shall submit to, and not
interfere with, unannounced inspections of his Practice Location(s) and
patient records by a College representative for the purposes of
monitoring his compliance with this Order;
(ix) Dr. Opper shall consent to the monitoring of his OHIP billings and
cooperate with inspections of his practice and patient charts by his
Practice Monitor and College representatives for the purpose of
monitoring and enforcing his compliance with the terms of this Order; and
(x) Dr. Opper shall be responsible for any and all costs associated with
implementing the terms of this Order.

Previous Hearings

Committee: DisciplineDecision Date: 24 Feb 2015Summary:

On February 24, 2015, the Discipline Committee found that Dr. Opper committed an act of
professional misconduct in that he has been found guilty of an offence that is relevant to his
suitability to practise, and that he has engaged in conduct or an act or omission relevant to the
practice of medicine that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded
by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional. Dr. Opper admitted to the
allegations.
On August 9, 2011, Dr. Opper was charged with and on October 25, 2012, pleaded guilty and
was found guilty of the following offences under s.44(1)(a) of the Health Insurance Act:
(a) Failing to maintain records as may be necessary to demonstrate that a service for which he
prepares or submits an account is the service that he provided. Dr. Opper was compensated for
improper billings in the amount of $29,767.50 for the period of April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010.
(b) Knowingly obtaining or attempting to obtain payment for any insured service that he was not
entitled to obtain. Dr. Opper billed OHIP for services purportedly provided to a patient in
December 2006 and July 2009. The patient denied having seen Dr. Opper at any time after June
2006, and Dr. Opper later admitted to not having provided the services to the patient. Dr. Opper
received $265.30 for these billings.
(c) Knowingly giving false information in an application, return or statement made to the Plan or
to the General Manager. Dr. Opper billed OHIP for services purportedly provided to a patient in
July 2009. The patient denied having received services from Dr. Opper at any time after 2006,
and Dr. Opper later admitted to knowingly giving false information to OHIP regarding the
provision of insured services to this patient. Dr. Opper received $206.90 for this billing.
In addition, Dr. Opper agreed to facts, though he did not plead guilty to the associated counts,
regarding billing OHIP for 17 Special Visit Premiums related to discussions with a colleague
regarding the colleague’s personal medical issues and 11 Special Visit Premiums related to
discussions with a member of his church.
In relation to the three charges of which he was found guilty, Dr. Opper was sentenced to a fine
of $30,000 ($10,000 per count), plus court costs and victim surcharge. On October 25, 2012,
prior to the hearing on the charges, Dr. Opper paid restitution in the amount of $29,816.20.
The Committee ordered and directed that:
- the Registrar suspend Dr. Opper’s certificate of registration for a period of three (3) months,
commencing at 12:01 a.m. on February 25, 2015.
- the Registrar place the following terms, conditions and limitations on Dr. Opper’s certificate of
registration:
(i) Dr. Opper shall participate in and successfully complete an educational program
satisfactory to the College in Ethics, with a report or reports to be provided to the College
regarding Dr. Opper’s progress and compliance. Dr. Opper shall complete this
requirement by August 1, 2015 or, if no satisfactory program is available by that time, by
the first possible opportunity thereafter;
(ii) Within thirty (30) days of the date of this Order, Dr. Opper shall obtain a physician
practice monitor acceptable to the College, who will review his Ontario Health Insurance
Plan (“OHIP”) billings and corresponding patient charts to ensure his compliance with
the Health Insurance Act and who will sign an undertaking in the form attached hereto as
Schedule “A” (the “Practice Monitor”);
(iii) The Practice Monitor will review, at minimum, 25 of Dr. Opper’s patient charts for which
he has billed OHIP once every three (3) months for a minimum of one year. If Dr. Opper
bills OHIP for fewer than 25 patients in any given three-month period, the Practice
Monitor will review all of the patient charts for which Dr. Opper billed OHIP. In the
event that Dr. Opper has billed OHIP for fewer than 100 patients during the one-year
period of monitoring, the monitoring will continue until a minimum of 100 charts have
been reviewed;
(iv) If a Practice Monitor who has given an undertaking in Schedule “A” to this Order is
unable or unwilling to continue to fulfill its terms, Dr. Opper shall, within twenty (20)
days of receiving notice of same, obtain an executed undertaking in the same form from a
similarly qualified person who is acceptable to the College and ensure that it is delivered
to the College within that time;
(v) If Dr. Opper is unable to obtain a Practice Monitor in accordance with paragraphs 4(ii),
4(iii) and 4(iv) of this Order, he shall cease to submit bills to OHIP until such time as he
has done so;
(vi) Dr. Opper shall consent to the disclosure by his Practice Monitor to the College, and by
the College to his Practice Monitor, of all information the Practice Monitor or the College
deems necessary or desirable in order to fulfill the Practice Monitor’s undertaking and to
monitor Dr. Opper’s compliance with this Order;
(vii) For an indefinite period of time, Dr. Opper shall inform the College of each and every
location where he practices including, but not limited to hospitals, clinics, and offices, in
any jurisdiction (collectively, his “Practice Location(s)”), within fifteen (15) days of this
Order, and shall inform the College of any and all new Practice Locations within 15 days
of commencing practice at that location;
(viii) For an indefinite period of time, Dr. Opper shall submit to, and not interfere with,
unannounced inspections of his Practice Location(s) and patient records by a College
representative for the purposes of monitoring his compliance with this Order;
(ix) Dr. Opper shall consent to the monitoring of his OHIP billings and cooperate with
inspections of his practice and patient charts by his Practice Monitor and College
representatives for the purpose of monitoring and enforcing his compliance with the
terms of this Order; and
(x) Dr. Opper shall be responsible for any and all costs associated with implementing the
terms of this Order.
- Dr. Opper appear before the panel to be reprimanded.
- Dr. Opper pay its costs of this proceeding in the amount of $4,460.00, within thirty (30) days of
the date of this Order.